> the underlying dynamic really is different Is it? I believe every state, or its establishment, acts forcefully to protect against what they consider potentia

> the underlying dynamic really is different Is it? I believe every state, or its establishment, acts forcefully to protect against what they consider potential existential threats. Given that the Western states and their establishment are atleast 2 centuries ahead of the curve of anyone else in terms of modern state apparatus, ideological basis (...), it is natural that we will observe distinct patterns of oppression and red lines. Most of the emerging powers are acutely sensitive to ideological challenges, challenges to the legitimacy of the establishment, precisely because they are the newly arrived and insecure in their position. Someone mentioned Julian Assange. Why did US and UK come down so hard on this guy? Because he represents an existential threat: he represents dissident factions in their intelligence communities (5 eyes) and that layer of the system is central to their maintenance of power and they will -not- tolerate any challenges in that area. So the equations defining the dynamic are identical. We just need to plug in the appropriate values for the equation's variables.